Urine Calcium Excretion Not Linked to Cardiovascular Events

MONDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Higher urine calcium excretion (UCaE) is not associated with a higher overall rate of cardiovascular events or mortality in outpatients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD), according to research published in the Dec. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

Christine C. Welles, M.D., of the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues measured UCaE from 24-hour urine collections provided by 903 outpatients with stable CHD to evaluate the association between UCaE and any cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, or cardiovascular mortality).

During a mean follow-up of six years, the researchers found that 32 percent of patients experienced a cardiovascular event. There was no association between UCaE and any cardiovascular event, after adjustment for demographics, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and kidney function. A lower rate of myocardial infarction was observed with higher UCaE (hazard ratio, 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.00).

"In conclusion, greater UCaE is not associated with higher overall cardiovascular event rates or mortality in outpatients with stable CHD. On the contrary, greater UCaE is associated with a modestly lower rate of MI," the authors write. "These findings suggest that greater systemic calcium absorption does not confer cardiovascular harm in outpatients with prevalent CHD."